24 Hostages Back In Israel; Palestinians in West Bank

By Worthy News’ George Whitten and Stefan J. Bos

JERUSALEM/GAZA (Worthy News) – Exhausted but hopeful, twenty-four former hostages enjoyed their first Jewish Sabbath in freedom since Hamas released them Friday, ending a near seven-week ordeal.

Thirteen Israelis, as well as 10 Thais and one Filipino, arrived in Israel, said Qatar, which was involved in the mediation between Israel and Hamas.

The Israelis include four children – aged two, four, six, and nine – as well as an 85-year-old woman. In exchange, Palestinian detainees, including 24 women and 15 teenage boys, have now been released by Israel to the West Bank. More releases were due later on Saturday, including at least 13 Israeli hostages as part of the ongoing temporary ceasefire deal.

Egypt received the list from Hamas of the 13 hostages to be released, security sources said. Israeli authorities say in exchange, 42 Palestinian prisoners will be released the same day under the deal.

Israel was reportedly pushing to release to up the number of hostages released on Saturday by one after it became apparent that one hostage was set to be freed without her mother, Israeli sources said.

Under the Qatari and Egyptian-mediated truce and hostage release deal, families cannot be separated in the releases.

A total of 50 Israeli hostages and 150 Palestinian detainees were meant to be released over four days during a temporary pause in the fighting.

TRUCE EXTENDED?

However, U.S. President Joe Biden said the truce could be extended. “It’s only a start, but so far, it’s gone well.” Biden also said.

He also expected American citizens to be among the hostages who would be freed as part of a truce extension.

Egypt also said Saturday it had received “positive signals” from all parties over a possible extension of the Gaza truce for one or two days.

Diaa Rashwan, the head of Egypt’s State Information Service (SIS), said the country was holding extensive talks with all parties to reach an accord over extending the four-day truce. That would allow “the release of more detainees in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails,” Rashwan added.

Yet Israel Defense Forces spokesman Avichay Adraee urged the residents of the Gaza Strip in Arabic on Saturday to “not try to move to the north of the Gaza Strip.”
He warned: “It is forbidden to enter the sea; it is forbidden to come within a kilometer of the border. For your safety, follow these instructions.”

He spoke as a tense Israel-Hamas ceasefire entered the second day ahead of more expected releases of hostages. Yet Israel has made clear the truce doesn’t mean an end to the war against Hamas, which it views as a terrorist organization and has pledged to destroy

Hamas’s attacks on October 7 in Israel killed 1,200 people, with about 240 taken hostage. Since then, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry claims more than 14,000 people have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory campaign in the Palestinian territory, but those figures were difficult to verify.

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